Strange Compliments
by maghaseology
Summary: Deadliest Catch - Blake is thrown when Rick hires a new crew member to replace fallen comrades. Read and review please!
1. Chapter 1

"You're going to hire me."

Rick had been studying charts when the woman's voice sounded over him. He looked up into the most determined face he had ever seen. A young girl stood in front of him, her thumbs hooked in the back pocket of her hip hugging jeans. Rick noticed this as his eyes traveled up her body.

"And why would I do that?" This kid couldn't have been more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and was wanting a job on a crabbing vessel. She had to be crazy.

"Because you need me." What a smart-ass, Rick thought to himself. She'll fit in perfectly with the boys.  
"That's not an answer." Rick had heard about this kid. Her name was Maggie Webber; tall, thin, with short brown hair that tucked neatly behind her ears, her bangs falling into her fierce, hazel eyes.

"I'm a psychologist working on my dissertation, a lifeguard and a paramedic, and I can take anything these guys can throw at me." She paused for what Rick figured was dramatic effect. "More importantly, I can cook up whatever you want me to." She gave Rick a look that told him she already knew what his answer was going to be. He thought a moment.

"I'll try you out for a season. Then I'll decide if you can handle this lifestyle. You'll get two hundred a day, same as any other greenhorn."

"Agreed."Maggie's handshake was firm. It told Rick that she was a girl, a young woman really, who knew what she wanted and was going to get it, no matter the challenge. She would be perfect for this boat. Rick watched her leave the bridge. At least she was dressed sensibly - Notre Dame hoodie, jeans and sneakers. And it wasn't like she was bad looking either, quite the opposite actually. The boys would be happy. Provided she was telling the truth about taking them on, she'd be fine.

Rick turned back to the helm and sighed at the sight of the dark, choppy water of the Bering Sea. Donna loved this job, loved the boys as her own, probably because she couldn't have any. So instead she had made her life out here with Rick. Twenty-nine years before she fell sick. Breast cancer was the culprit, and it took her hard and fast, just as the sea would have. The entire crew has cried just as hard as Rick had when she had finally died; they all loved her that much.

Tomorrow, the first day of king crab season, her ashes would be spread from the bow. Maybe it would bring them a little luck , just as Donna always seemed to. Rick wiped the tears from his eyes. Thank God none of the boys were up here to see him. The captain was supposed to be the strong one, right?

It didn't really matter anymore. Rick guessed that this would be his last season before he retired. Besides, Blake Painter was ready to be captain. He had earned the respect of the rest of the crew. He had the experience. It would work out alright.

Down on deck, Maggie had her cell phone to her ear.

"Yeah Mom, I got the job. Two hundred a day for at least a month. I should be able to pay off my loans in no time, especially if I get signed on for another season. And it'll give me time to write my dissertation. Yes, I have all the information I need, but listen, I have to go get my stuff put away. I'll call you the next chance I get. I love you. Give Michael a hug for me. Alright. Bye." Maggie hung up the phone, staring at it for a moment. She wouldn't talk to anyone she loved for a month or more, and considering she was used to talking to them daily, this was going to be hard. But she needed this job. She had loans from Sterling undergrad and her Notre Dame graduate and doctorate work to pay off. She was bound and determined to finish her dissertation without debt. Without anyone's help. She looked out over the Dutch Harbor, Alaskan landscape. It was beautiful, crisp and clear, but Maggie knew that it was going to get cold and rough out on the sea. She slid her hands into her hoodie pocket and stared off, just thinking.

"Who is that?" Blake asked, nodding his head towards some girl standing on the deck of the Maverick.

"Her name's Maggie Webber. She's been looking for work on the boats. But no one will hire a girl. Bad luck and whatnot." Scott told him.

"What, pulling in crab?"

"No, taking care of the crew."

"She ain't bad looking, that's for sure." Mike said, nudging his brother.

"She's too young for you." Marvin told him. "But Blake on the other hand."

"Knock it off, guys. You haven't even seen her face."

"With a body like that, I don't have to see her face." Mike chuckled. Blake looked back at the girl, the wind blowing through her hair. She didn't even bother to try and hold it back, or contain it. She just let it blow around her face. He looked up and down her body. She might have been wearing a bulky hoodie, but her jeans hugged her hips and her backside nicely; not too tight, but not falling off. Blake shook his head. This was soon to be his boat, he had never heard about a girl being hired. That was a disrespect to Donna's memory. He walked towards her, suddenly angry.

"Aren't you a little young to be on a crabbing boat?"

Maggie turned to see a young man standing behind her, about thirty-years-old, with three older men behind him. They all stared at her with a questioning glare. Maggie grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulder, looking the young man up and down. He was tall, taller then Maggie, built and muscular, with brown eyes and hair. He was cute. No, Maggie thought, I have to share space with him. Keep it neutral.

"I think I can handle it. Thanks for your concern." Without another look, Maggie walked past him and down to where Rick had said she would be bunking.

"Who is she?" Black demanded, stepping onto the bridge. "I don't remember any discussion about hiring a girl."

"Young woman, she's twenty-seven. And I do believe that I'm still captain. I didn't think I had to discuss anything with anyone." Rick didn't even bother turning around to face him.

"But who is she?"

"She's the new cook, medic and caretaker."

"Where did she come from?"

"Did you ask?"  
"Well… no."

"So go ask. And ask nicely. I don't know her very well, but I know enough about women to know I don't want her pissed off before the season even starts." Blake turned to walk off the bridge. "And apologize for whatever you already said to her!" Rick yelled after him. Blake paused and rolled his eyes. Just because this kid was a girl, she should be treated any differently from the rest of them? Yeah, right. Black checked his watch. He had another twelve hours before he had to be back on the boat. Just enough time to get a drink or two, and maybe to consider the strange feeling in his stomach that he got the second he laid eyes on that girl.

"Come on Blake, pick up your feet, you're on the boat now, stop goofing around." Marvin and Mike were on either side of a thoroughly drunk Blake, staggering through the close quarters of the Maverick at midnight. Blake seemed to find this hilariously funny.

"What in the name of hell is going on out here?" Maggie emerged from one of the bunks. She saw Blake and grimaced, her arms crossing at her chest. "I should have known, the prodigal son returns."

"Hey look," Blake slurred as he straighten and stepped up to Maggie. She looked up at him. He was towering over her. She guessed him to be six foot four or five. "It's the new princess of the Maverick. You know, I was told to be nice to you." Maggie stepped away from the stench of alcohol on Blake's breath.

"Well you should, I can poison your morning coffee." Mike and Marvin snickered. Blake threw a glare over his shoulder at them, then looked back at Maggie, noticing for the first time what she was wearing. She had on a pink tee-shirt with the word "Sterling" scrawled across the front, and black flannel pants. She was bare foot.

"You should put socks on or your feet will freeze." Blake slurred. "Or you could curl up with a warm body." He smiled mischievously.

"Or I could curl up with my heated blanket, and you could go back to your own bunk alone to sober up." Maggie motioned to Marvin and Mike who grabbed Blake under the arms again. As soon as the boys had pulled Blake clear of the door, Maggie closed it, leaned back against the metal and sighed.

He's a jerk, she thought, just a drunk jerk. Just keep reminding yourself of that. Maggie sighed again, and crawled back into bed. Tomorrow she would start work.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's another chapter for you to enjoy, read and review please!  
~Mags~

"How do you want your eggs, Scotty?" Maggie asked, glancing at the sound of the door the next morning.

"You mean I get a choice?"

"When it comes to eggs," Maggie slid a couple fried eggs onto Rick's plate. "Yes." She turned back to the stove as the door opened again. Maggie didn't have to look to know who it was this time; she held out a cup of black coffee.

"I don't drink it black." Blake grumbled.

"You do today. Now drink, then tell me how you want your eggs." Blake paused, then took the cup from Maggie's hand, gulping it quickly and grimacing.

"Scrambled." Maggie gave him a look. "Please, Princess."

"They'll be right out."

A few minutes later, Maggie slid a plate loaded with eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes in front of Blake, adding a tall glass of water.

"Drink, it'll make you feel better." Maggie stood there a moment looking at Blake until he glanced up at her.

"Thanks." Maggie smiled as the other men snickered into their food.

"You're welcome."

"Well now that we're all quiet, here's what today's plan is." Rick said, handing his plate up to Maggie. "We're going north three hundred miles. You have that long to prepare the bait for all two hundred cages. We're dropping them and letting them soak until the bait is prepared again, then they'll be picked back up."

"To put back in?" Scott asked. "In the same place?"  
"Depends on the catch, but that's the idea."Rick confirmed.

"Well then, we better get started." Mike said, clearing his dishes to the sink. "Thank you my dear, breakfast was wonderful."

"Here, here!" Marvin and Scott chimed in, their dishes also clinking in the sink.

The other men left, but Blake sat quietly at the table, slowly finishing his breakfast. Maggie began washing dishes, humming to herself. She didn't even hear him walk over to where she was, but when she went to reach for the soap, he was there next to her.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday." Maggie turned from the sink to face him straight on, leaning against the counter. "I guess I was stressed about the new season, but that's no excuse for how I acted towards you, and definitely not for getting that drunk." Maggie looked down at the floor, then back up at Blake, shaking the bangs out of her eyes.

"I guess I can forgive you this time," she said, smiling a little. Blake smiled back.

"Thanks for breakfast. It really was wonderful." Blake leaned down and gave Maggie a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing quickly down the hall to dress.

What the hell was he thinking? Blake pulled on his rain jacket and pants, thinking about what had just happened. The apology was needed, but kissing Maggie on the cheek? Where did that come from? As soon as his boots were on, Blake made his way up to the deck where he joined the rest of the crew at the bait table.

"What took you so long? That alcohol from last night slowing you down?" Mike asked when Blake finally arrived.

"I don't think it's the alcohol that's slowing him down. More like that little cook we got us in the kitchen." Scott teased, giving them all a wink.

"What are you talking about? I'm not interested in her like that." Blake defended quickly.

"Yeah, right, Painter. I may be old, but I'm not blind. I know that look." Marvin said, tossing a fish to Blake.

"What look? I don't have a look." Blake sawed his knife through the fish, tossing it in the bucket with the rest and reaching for another.

"Sure you do. That puppy-love look, that says I'm attracted, but I'm going to deny it to all ends of the earth."

"You guys are going senile. That was a combination of alcohol and good food. That's it." Blake said, throwing a few more fish.

"He's got a point about the food. I don't think I've had breakfast like that in a while." Mike said. "At least not without having to pay for it." This got the men laughing, and left Blake to work quietly, without the men saying anything more about looks, or puppy-love. It left Blake to return to his own thoughts.

He didn't know what it was that came over him whenever he was around her. He was either rude and obnoxious or he was like how he was in the kitchen. The best way to prevent further awkward moments would be the avoid contact with her as much as possible. That was it, that was the answer, and with fishing season starting, that should be easy.

"Get ready to drop boys! We're almost to our hunting ground!" Rick's voice sounded, shaking Blake from his stupor. He finished the bait bucket he had in his hand and made his way over to the hydraulics controls.

"Clear!"

"So when should I have the next meal ready?" Maggie asked, stepping onto the bridge.

"You can start whenever the guys start coming in. They aren't going to want to eat right away. They prefer showers and dry clothes first, so you'll have time. But you'll learn the longer your on the boat."Rick explained to her, grabbing the microphone. "Be careful down there, we have a storm coming in!" Maggie looked out the window and saw the boys wave up, signaling that they heard and understood. She could identify each of them distinctly, and found herself watching Blake. He was directing the men with short shouts and hand movements. He was skilled at his work, even Maggie could see that.

"He knows what he's dong, that's for sure."

"Sorry?" Maggie shook her head, looking away from Blake.

"I know who you're looking at. And yes, he can be a jerk and stupid sometimes, but deep down he's a good guy, and he knows his job better than most men his age."

"Which is?" Maggie asked without thinking.

"Thirty-two with nineteen years experience behind him." Rick glanced at Maggie. "But like I said, he's a good guy."

"I'm not interested in him like that." Maggie shook her head, her eyes back on Blake. Rick chuckled.

"That's what my wife told my father after she and I met." There was silence for a moment.

"I should go organize the first aid room." Maggie quickly left the bridge, needing to be in a place of comfort, some place where she could be alone with her thoughts.

Close quarters was a bad place for a relationship. If things go wrong, there's no escaping the other person. And Maggie needed this job. She needed to pay off her loans and quickly. She needed to get her dissertation done and get back to work. There was no room for distractions. But even as she stacked first aid supplies, she knew she was in trouble, and avoidance was the only answer.

Scott threw the hook and caught the rope, linked it in to the already moving pulley. Mike and Marvin grabbed the cage and dropped the crab to the sorting table. Blake controlled the pulley, the lift and the hydraulic table. One bad move, one blast of wind, or one good wave and someone could get hurt or worse, killed. Blake had seen it happen. A wave can knock you overboard and into the icy water, and right in the way of a swinging cage. At that point, your choices were few - get crushed by the cage or freeze and drown. Not options that Blake was looking forward to.

Rick was right about that storm. The winds were high, the waves were higher. It was getting dangerous and they all knew it.

"Mike! Stay off the edge, you're gonna go in!" Blake yelled, pulling Mike down by the back of his jacket from his typical grab spot standing on the ledge of the boat. "Stay as far back as you can! I'll bring the cage to you!" The two men backed away, guiding the cage carefully. It took longer, but was safer than how they would normally do it.

Fourteen hours later, all two hundred cages were dropped back in and soaking.

"Come on in guys, you deserve a break." Rick called them back in. Grateful and extremely tired, the men trudged back in.

"I'm going to start dinner guys. By the time you're done with showers, food should be ready." Maggie said, helping the guys with their wet rain gear and hanging it up to dry.

"Thanks, Maggie."  
"Yeah thanks, kiddo."

"Go get warm." Maggie playfully pushed the older men towards the showers, then turned as Blake stumbled in to the cabin. He pushed his hood off his head. He was flushed and pale - he looked exhausted. "You okay, Blake?" Blake stared at her.

"Just another day on the Bering Sea." He said finally, fumbling with the zipper on his parka.

"Let me, you're half frozen." Maggie pushed Blake's hands away, undoing the zipper herself, and going around him to pull the parka down his arms. She noticed his wince at shrugging the article of clothing off. "You okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine, just got blown into a cage on the way in."

"Here, I'll look at it. Good arm first." Maggie said, reaching for the bottom of his tee-shirt.

"No, it'll be fine. I just need a good hot shower." Blake stepped back from Maggie's reach. "I'll be fine." He added quietly before he turned and walked off towards the showers, leaving Maggie standing to stare after him. She could see the bruising already starting to form on the back of his right arm.

Sighing, Maggie made her way to the kitchen, pulling out pots and spices and beginning to prepare dinner. She figured a good hot stew would do the boys some good. It'll go down fast and keep them going for a while. By the time the men had showered and dressed, the stew was bubbling nicely on the stove, and Maggie was pulling the bread out of the oven. Mike came over to the stove and reached for a bowl. Maggie got in his way.

"You've been working hard all day, go sit and I'll bring it to you." She waved both Mike and Marvin away and started spooning the stew for them, sliding it before them with a healthy helping of bread and a couple spoons. Soon Scott and Rick joined them.

"Where's Blake?" Rick asked, dropping down at the table.

"The boy's moving a bit slow. He got knocked around pretty badly out there." Mike told them.

"Yeah, dragging your ass off the ledge." Marvin slapped his brother on the back of the head, making the boys laugh.

"Is he out of the shower?" Rick interrupted them.  
"Yeah, he was sitting on his bunk when we left." Scott told him, busying himself with his food. Rick glanced at Maggie, a glance that no one else saw. She nodded and grabbed a bowl of stew and left the kitchen, heading down the hall to where she knew Blake slept.

She knocked lightly.

"Yah, come in." Maggie opened the door quietly. Blake was sitting on his bunk in sweats and socks, no tee-shirt. Maggie noticed his abs were defined, in fact every muscle in his body was defined. And his right shoulder was swollen and bruised.

"Just me." Maggie saw Blake turn away when she appeared. "I brought you some dinner." She held up the bowl as a peace offering. "And I came to look at that shoulder."

"I'll take the food, but I told you, the shoulder will be fine." He went to reach out with his right arm, winced and quickly changed arms.

"Bullshit," Maggie said, sitting down next to him. "Are your fingers tingling?" She asked, reaching for Blake's hand. It was cold.

"No it's not tingling." Blake snapped, then quieted his voice. "Because I can barely feel it."

"That's not a good sign, Blake." Maggie ran her hand up his arm, gently feeling the muscles, looking for the feel of a strain or a tear.

Blake couldn't breathe, the air caught in his chest. Her touch was soft and gentle, her finger tips smooth against his skin. His eyes slowly traveled up her arm to her face. Her eyes were on his, looking for signs of discomfort or pain. He knew that, but her eyes were soft and compassionate. He couldn't look away. Until she found that spot.

"Ow!"He yelled, jumping back as her hand touched his shoulder. "Ow, ow, ow!" Blake's eyes squeezed shut and Maggie saw tears leaking out.

"Okay, okay." Maggie said, trying to sooth him. "Let me see how badly you've hurt it."

"No! That hurt the last time!" Blake protested. Maggie stared at him, exasperated. "Alright, but easy there, okay?" Maggie nodded and slid closer to Blake, her hand on his back, gently rubbing his muscles and moving closer to his shoulder.

"Just relax," Maggie whispered. Almost instantly she felt his muscles loosen. She looked into his face, his eyes were still closed, and his breathing was nearly labored as he focused on that instead of the shaking pain in his shoulder. Maggie laced her fingers with his, resting her other hand lightly on his shoulder blade. "I'm going to move your arm slowly. Just stay as relaxed as you can." Slowly Maggie raised Blake's arm until it was straight out to the side. She took a deep breath.

"What are you going-OW!" Just as Blake started to speak, Maggie pushed against his shoulder blade and pulled his arm back. The pop of his shoulder going back into place could be heard above his yelling. She let go of his arm, and he wrapped it around himself. He stopped moving.

"It doesn't hurt anymore." He looked shocked. Maggie smiled, and ran a hand back up to his shoulder, massaging it gently. The swelling was already starting to recede.

Blake looked at Maggie in disbelief. That moment of intense pain was worth it. Especially now that they were both just sitting there with Maggie rubbing his shoulder. This was behavior that he knew was rare to see out of Maggie. It made him feel special to be able to see this side of her, and he wanted to act of that feeling.

"Maggie," he started, he didn't know what to say, but could feel himself leaning towards her. He wanted to kiss her, to feel the softness of her lips, and how they would feel against his own.

Maggie wanted him to kiss her, and waited while he slowly leaned closer to her. But in that moment, her mind reeled and images flashed through her mind. Images of the past five years of schooling and internships, the unfinished dissertation sitting in her cabin on the ship, and a sign with "Dr." preceding her name.

"Blake," Maggie whispered, then quickly stood up and stepped away from him. "Blake, I'm sorry. I can't."

"Can't what? Maggie, what's the problem?" Blake stared up at Maggie who refused to look at him.

"I… I just can't, okay?" Maggie quickly left the room and made her way back up to the kitchen, which was, thankfully, empty. She leaned over the sink and carefully took a deep breath. She's worked too hard for too long to have it all blow up in her face now. She still has a lot of work left to do. The best thing right now would be to immerse herself into her dissertation and keep up her rough exterior. Be the bitch, Maggie told herself, be the bitch.

Blake sat and stared into his stew. He wasn't sure what had just happened. He thought they were on the same playing field, the same page, and then suddenly, bam, she's walking out the door. What is up with this girl, he thought to himself. What is going on with her, first she's tough and holding her own, then she's sweet and likable, and then she's back to the cold shoulder. Just stay away from her, he thought, just stay away from her.

"How's the shoulder, Painter?" Scott asked as Blake stepped back out onto deck.

"Good, Maggie popped it back in." Blake kept it short. He didn't want the other men knowing about what happened, more for Maggie's sake than his own. Besides, he still didn't know exactly what had transpired between them yet. Part of him wanted to talk to Maggie about it, but the other part of him said to leave it alone, and to not bother. But it still itched at his brain.

"Good, then she's doing what she's getting paid for." Mike said, sliding out of the cage where he had just hooked the bait and slamming the gate closed. "Send it over!" Blake punched the hydraulics while Scott threw in the rope. They worked smoothly dropping cages. They had already brought in 50,000 pounds, half full. Another 50,000 and they'd have to run to drop before continuing. Weather was better today, not as much tossing, the guys could keep their balance easily and work faster.


	3. Chapter 3

Days went by quickly. Maggie was up at odd hours, making sure that food was ready between the guys dropping cages and pulling them back up, usually every ten to twelve hours. Between then, she could sleep or work on her dissertation. She had ten pages so far, barely an introduction compared to the seventy or eighty pages that were to follow. "An Evaluation of the Relationship Between Chronic Levels of Substance P and Endorphins, and Emotional States in Adolescents." Maggie had three-ring binders filled with articles, research, personal testimonies and doctor's reports. She had a box filled with DVDs of interviews, and tapes with verbal notes from herself and others. The entire room looking like a tornado had gone through. Papers lay everywhere, one computer was paused at the face of a teenage boy, another next to it had her paper, saved not only there, but on an external hard drive and a memory stick. Maggie wasn't taking any chances.

The only place that wasn't covered in papers was her bed. Experience had shown her that a bed was meant for lying down. Psychology told her that if you start doing homework on your bed, you'll never be able to sleep there again.

Maggie sat in the middle of the floor now. The boys were fed, it was going to be four hours before she had to cook again, and eight hours before they had to go back out. Maggie shook her head at this thought. In the past two weeks she had taken care of Blake's shoulder, put stitches into both Mike and Marvin, and treated Scott for a concussion after he was goofing off and was hit in the head with a cage. But no one had gone overboard yet, and no one had died.

Blake's shoulder. Since that incident, she had barely said a dozen words to him. Enough to know what he wanted to eat, and to make sure he wasn't hurt. Most of that was communicated by looks and head nods. Other than that, they both avoided each other like the plague. This thought bothered Maggie. She liked Blake, she like him a lot, and avoiding him like this hurt, and she knew it hurt him too. She could see it in his brown eyes, which darkened whenever he looked at her.

Okay, shake out it, Maggie thought. You need to concentrate on what you're writing. This is important, getting this approved determines the rest of your life.

Blake found himself standing outside Maggie's door. He had just been wandering through the halls of the ship, just letting his mind wander away from him, and this is where he ended up. Blake raised his fist to knock, but stopped. He hadn't really spoken to Maggie since the day with his shoulder. There were nights when he laid awake and thought about Maggie's hand on his arm, his back and his shoulder. Her touch soft and gentle. As Blake stood outside Maggie's door, he felt his body fill with a warm feeling at just the thought of her. It made him happy in a way nothing else ever had.

Maggie stopped working. Blake had just run through her mind again. She hadn't even been thinking about him, but suddenly he was on her mind again, and a warm feeling swept through her. Her eyes widened in realization. She jumped up, papers going everywhere and she ran to the door, ripping it open just as the boat pitched to one side. Maggie stumbled and fell towards the opposite wall. She was caught before she hit the metal.

"Easy there, Princess." Maggie looked up into Blake's brown eyes. She was in his arms and he was smiling. She smiled back and stood to face him.

"Thanks for being there to catch me." She said quietly, glancing down at her feet, then back up into his eyes.

Blake stood there with Maggie in his arms. His mind had gone blank, all he could think about was sweeping her off her feet and carrying her off to places where no one would find them. Gently, Blake raised his hand and pushed Maggie's hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ears, and resting his hand on her neck. His other hand wrapped around to the small of her back, pulling her close to him. Blake bent down and gently pressed his lips against hers.

Maggie was filled exhilaration. Blake's hands on her made her breathless. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his hand as it caressed her face. His hands were surprisingly soft considering his rough profession. When his lips touched hers, Maggie almost melted. She wrapped her arms around his neck, stretching up on her toes to be better held in his arms and returning the kiss. They stood there together for a few minutes, tasting each other's kiss before Blake picked Maggie up in his arms. Bridal style he carried her into her room, kicking the door closed with his foot. Gently he lowered Maggie onto the bed, laying next to her and wrapping her up in his arms. For a few minutes they just lay there, looking into each other's eyes.

Blake was stunned and in shock. He had never felt this way about another person before. Just looking into Maggie's eyes and he felt like he could just stay there forever, that nothing else mattered. His hands on her side, in her hair, wrapped around her and holding her tight. Only they existed at this moment.

His arms were warm and comfortable. She didn't want to move, she didn't want to think, she didn't want to do anything, except lay there. Blake pulled Maggie closer to him, and she buried her head against his chest, closing her eyes. This was happiness, this was what she had waited her entire life for, and she didn't want it to go away.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Somebody was pounding on Maggie's door.

"Go away," she mumbled, curling up closer to Blake's body.

"Come on, you fell asleep. Time to get to work." Rick's voice. Blake moaned and rolled out of bed. He had fallen asleep with his shoes on, something he hated doing. It made his feet feel strange. Rubbing his eyes, Blake stumbled over to the door, yanking it open.

"Yeah, Rick. I'm comin'"

"What are you doing in there?" Rick asked, stunned. Blake was the last one he was expecting to come out of Maggie's room. Frankly he only expected Maggie to come out of Maggie's room. Blake looked at Rick, eyes wide.

"Um, I was just… Just…" Blake couldn't think of anything to say. "I gotta go." Quickly Blake made his way down the hall towards his room. He had screwed up. He shouldn't have been standing outside her door in the first place. And once she fell into his arms, it was all over. He lost his ability to think rationally. At least they didn't go any farther than they did, that could have been trouble. Blake had finally made it to his room, and he shut the door, leaning against the cool metal. His plan wasn't working, and he didn't know what else to do.

Rick stared as Blake all but ran away from him. Then peered through the open door. The normal papers and computers and movies littered the floor. Maggie was fast asleep in her bed, clothing in place. So they weren't doing anything overly bad. But what was Blake doing in her room? They each had this unspoken agreement to pretend to hate each other. This didn't make sense. Rick walked into Maggie's room, and sat on the edge of her bed. She was fast asleep. Poor kid, she worked just as hard as the rest of them, maybe harder. She appeared whenever called, no matter the time. She was always ready for whatever emergency they threw at her, without a flinch or a yell, always the calm one when they were worried or freaking out or panicking . And she always had food ready to be served on a moment's notice. Rick shook his head, looking at the floor of the cabin. He didn't even understand the titles of some of the articles Maggie was reading. The kid on the DVD looked pained, and he was only about sixteen. She did everything on top of writing her dissertation. Rick looked back at Maggie's sleeping form. Quietly he stood and left the room, pulling the door closed behind him. He'd make dinner tonight. She needed a break.

"Where's the kid?" Scott asked, reaching the kitchen.

"How did you know she wasn't here?" Rick asked, turning from the stove.

"Because something's burning."

"Thanks, now get over here and help me." Scott walked over to stand next to Rick.

"Oh boy, Captain. You've got some mess here." Rick glared at his crewman. Scott laughed and began moving pots and adding spices. "Move on over, I've got this taken care of."

The boys were half way through their meal when Maggie appeared in the doorway, rubbing her eyes. She saw them all sitting there, and her eyes widened.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" She exclaimed. "I would have been up in an instant!"

"You needed a break. So I decided that we would cook for you tonight." Rick told her, standing and dishing her out some soup. "You've earned a break." Maggie laughed and sat down where Rick had placed the bowl. She looked next to her and into the sparkling brown eyes of Blake. She smiled at him, but only received a weak one in return. She looked at him questioningly, but he only returned to his meal, refusing to look at her.

Maggie glanced at Rick, who only shrugged. Without another word, Maggie turned to her food, slowly and quietly eating while the boys finished up and headed to get ready to go back outside. Soon, Maggie was the only one left at the table. The entire time, Blake didn't look at her, didn't say anything to her, and left in silence. The second the door closed behind Rick, Maggie let her spoon fall into her bowl and her head into her hands. Without wanting to, and without control, she could feel the tears sliding down her cheeks.

That's where Mike found her three hours later, though the tears had disappeared by then.

"Mags, I need stitches." Maggie jumped up from where she sat, grabbing a towel and tossing it to Mike, taking care to not look directly at him.

"How dizzy are you?"

"A bit."

"Let's get you over to my office." Maggie helped Mike next door to the first aid room. He was starting to pale and sweat. "Lay down, I'll get the sutures." Maggie grabbed her stool and rolled back over to the table. The towel was wrapped around his lower arm. "What happened?" She asked, started to open the already blood-soaked towel.

"Wire snapped. Almost hit me in the face." Maggie got the towel off, and almost let her emotions show. The cut was deep, really deep, straight down to the bone and the length of his lower arm.

"This is going to take a while, and be slightly painful." She told Mike, rolling back over to her cabinet and pulling out the disposable sutures.

"Can't be any worse than it is now." Maggie smiled at him weakly.

"Alright. Here we go." She grabbed a syringe and started working. It took two layers of stitches, one in the muscle, the other in the skin, to close the cut. Two and a half hours later, Mike was sutured and bandaged. Maggie took a deep breath and peeled off her gloves. "How do you feel?"

"Well, I'm not dizzy anymore, and my arm doesn't hurt as much."

"That's because the Novocain hasn't worn off yet. You'll be singing a different tune in a couple hours." Maggie rolled back over to him. "You go take a rest. You can't get those wet until they set. I'll let the captain know."

"Yes ma'am." Mike went to leave the room, but stopped to look at her. "You know, you're a wonderful young lady. You shouldn't be yanked around by a guy who doesn't know what he wants." Maggie laughed. More half laughed, half started crying again.

"Thanks Mike, I'll keep that in mind." Mike nodded and winked, then finally left. Maggie stood there for a few more minutes, then wiped her face. She turned to the sink, splashed herself with cool water, and dried it with a clean towel. She glanced into the mirror and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. She didn't want to admit it, but even she saw the sadness there. Maggie shook her head, letting her bangs fall where they may and took a deep breath before walking briskly out of the office.

"How's Mike?"

"He'll live, just has to stay dry for a day or so."

"How's until pick up? Sixteen hours?"

"Do I get any other choice?"

"Not really."

"Sixteen hours will be fine." Maggie smiled and went over to the window to see the boys.

"How are you doing?"

"What do you mean? I'm fine."

"If I was going to believe that, I wouldn't have asked in the first place." Rick gave her a look that a father would give a daughter. Maggie sighed, still staring out the window. "You know, he's not worth it."

"I know, but it's the ones who aren't worth it, who are."

"I can't tell you what to do, you're a grown woman. But he doesn't know what he wants, he doesn't know where he is, and he lives for this job. I don't see him settling down anytime soon."

"I don't want that, Rick."

"That's what you say now."

"No, that's what I say period. I've got a lot of work ahead of me with my dissertation and setting up a practice. I've never wanted anything else more in my life." Maggie turned and headed towards the stairs. "I'm going to go get the next meal ready before going back to my cabin."

"Alright, you get some work done on that paper of yours." Maggie left the bridge, not knowing what to think about the conversations of the past ten minutes really meant. Down in the kitchen she started a slow simmering chili before returning to her room.


	4. Chapter 4

Please read and review! What you guys say means a lot to me! Just a side note - I don't own anything about Deadliest Catch except Maggie and my love for the show!  
Enjoy!  
~Mags~

"How much longer for king crab season?" Maggie asked a few weeks later. They had been out on the water for a month and a half. It was almost Thanksgiving. They were going to have to head back to shore in a few days to do a drop. It would give Maggie a chance to pick up food for the holiday.

"I haven't any clue. It seems the other boats aren't pulling as much as we are. Which is good for us, but bad for them." Rick glanced down at the boys on deck and grabbed the microphone. "Hey guys, be careful down there, will ya?" Maggie looked down. The boys were in good spirits at the loads they were bringing in and did, in fact, seem a little looser than usual. Even Blake looked up into the bridge and waved at Maggie. She smiled and waved back, laughing at the rarely seen good nature of the boy.

Blake looked up into the bridge. Maggie was standing at the window watching them. Just the sight of her made him smile and he waved up at her. Up in the bridge he saw her smile and giggle a little. It made his heart soar. And that was the last thing he remembered until he woke up in a bed.

Rick grabbed the microphone again.

"Blake, watch out!" A cage had come loose from its binding and was sliding across the deck towards Blake. He looked and saw it coming, but there was no way to stop it or to get out of the way. He threw his arms up in an effort to keep the cage from pushing him over the edge, but it didn't work. Blake disappeared over the edge of the ship and into the water below. Alarms sounded, the other men started running like crazy. By the time Maggie made it to the deck, they had a life-ring out to him and were pulling him back in. Maggie grabbed one of his arms and helped pull him back on board. He wasn't shivering anymore, his lips were blue and he was whiter than a ghost.

"Quick, get him inside!" Maggie instructed, running before them and holding open doors. Down in the infirmary, the boys started pulling off Blake's gear, getting him out of the wetness as fast as possible. Maggie grabbed an armful of blankets and pushed through them to Blake. Even his shirt and pants were soaked through. Without thinking she grabbed his shirt. "Hold him up guys." Each of the guys took a side, doing just as Maggie told them. With their help, she was able to pull of his tee-shirt and jeans, until he was down to his boxers, which were surprisingly dry.

"Towel" Maggie held out her hand and someone gave her one. She immediately wrapped it tightly around Blake, rubbing not his arms, but his sides and stomach. Scott wrapped another one around Blake from the back. "Get him up into the bed." The men lifted Blake, putting him onto the hospital bed as Maggie fumbled with a control.

"What's that for?" Rick asked, nodding towards her hands.  
"Heated mattress pad. I knew It would come in handy at some point." They covered Blake with blankets and then stood back. "Guys, I can't work with you all standing around in the way." Maggie ushered them out. They went, but very unwillingly. As soon as the door was closed, Maggie turned back to Blake. He was starting to stir a little.

"Blake?" she asked, moving back to his side and pushing his wet hair out of his eyes. "Come on, Blake, open your eyes."

"Where am I?" He mumbled, his eyes going from open to closed and back again.

"You're on the ship, sweetheart. You're on the Maverick."

"It's cold." Maggie laughed a little.

"Yes it is. Especially since you went for a little swim."

"Want to sleep."

"Not yet Blake, you can't sleep yet. You have to stay awake, at least for a little while." He was curled up in a ball on the bed. He had started shivering again. Maggie started to rub his back and shoulders. "At least we know the blood is moving again." Without thinking, she laid her head next to his, their foreheads touching.

"Why are… you doing this… for me?" Blake asked, starting to stutter.

"I'm pretty sure the guys would kill me if I didn't." Maggie said quietly. Blake opened his eyes to look into hers.

"Lay with me?" He whispered. Maggie looked at him a moment. "Please?"

Gently Maggie stood, and pulled off her coat. "First we should get you into some dry clothes." Maggie grabbed an extra set of clothes that she had each of the guys leave in the infirmary. Blake sat up slowly and stared vaguely at the clothes in Maggie's hands.

"Here, let me help you." Slowly she helped dress him, working the shirt over his head and arms, pulling it gently down to cover his stomach. She helped him stand, and pulled the sweatpants up over his hips, knotting the tie carefully. "Sit." Maggie whispered, before kneeling to slide socks over his feet, then helped him to lay back down. Carefully she climbed in with him, pulling the blankets over them. She let him wrap his arms around her. He was still cold, but slowly warming up. Every couple of seconds he would shiver, but that was slowly subsiding.

After a little while, Maggie felt his breathing become even. She slid out from his arms and got up, slowly closing the door as she left.

"How's the boy doing?" Rick asked upon seeing Maggie.

"He's going to be alright. He's sleeping now."

"You did good. You acted quickly."

"I did what I was trained to do."

"You did what you did, not because of your training." Rick looked at her, a serious expression on his face. "You did what you did because you love him. And he loves you."

Maggie looked at Rick. She knew what he said was true, but couldn't bring herself to agree.  
"I can't love him."

"Why?"

"Because I've worked too damn hard to get where I am in my education. I can't give that all up."

"You don't have to. You can love him and not give up your dreams. You can have both."

"No, I can't, I have to finish, I have to get my dissertation approved, I have a practice to open." Maggie started pacing the bridge. "All my life I've had these plans, these dreams for how I wanted my life to go, and with the exception of a few deviations, I've stuck to those plans. I've put everything in my life to the side for those plans. I've spent weekends alone in my room, weeknights in the library. I've worked my ass off every chance I've gotten to make it through school. I can't lose all of that."

"Nobody is asking you to give all that up. No one is asking you to throw your dream away. You can still do that."

"And what? Let Blake go out to sea all year, doing this? Where he could be killed in an instant, without ever seeing it coming? Worrying about it everyday he's gone because he can't get a call to me? What type of life is that, Rick?"

"It's not any type of life. But if you love him, why wouldn't you be with him?" At this point, Maggie started crying and dropped to the floor, sitting right where she had been standing. Rick came over to her, kneeling in front of her. "Sweetheart, for the past month and a half I have seen you two on this boat together. I see the way each of you look at the other. I see the way you two act around each other. This isn't just a fling or lonely sex on a boat in the middle of nowhere. Baby girl, he would give all of this up for you. You know he would." Maggie shook her head.

"No. I couldn't let him do that. You know he's wanted to be captain of a fishing boat forever. His entire life, just like I've wanted my own practice for forever. I couldn't do that to him."  
"You aren't doing anything to him if he's the one choosing to do it." Rick's head dropped a moment, then he looked back up at Maggie. "Listen kiddo, I spent twenty years of my life away from a woman who I truly loved. I wasted twenty years because I never took a chance. I was too scared of ruining her life or mine, or worse yet both. Twenty years that I can never get back." Maggie looked up at him. "Don't make the same mistake I did."

Maggie shook her bangs out of her eyes, wiping the tears on the back of her sleeve. "I should go check on him." She whispered, standing and heading towards the door.

"Tell him how you feel, Margaret May. Be honest with him." Maggie kept walking, and didn't stop until she reached the infirmary.

The opening of the door woke Blake up. No, he thought, it wasn't the door, it was who was at the door. She's the one that woke him up; she's the one he could hear no matter what, that always had his attention.

"Maggie." His voice was more of a moan than his real voice, as he tried to roll onto his back. His body was stiff and soar, but at least he was no longer cold.

"Let me help you." Maggie stepped forward quickly, supporting him into a sitting position. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a Mac truck." Blake chuckled, regretting the action as pain hit his back, he moaned again.

"Well, you pretty much were." Maggie said, leaning Blake forward and beginning to rub his back. "Hitting that water probably felt just as hard." This made Blake sit up quickly, nearly crying out in pain.

"What do you mean 'hitting the water'?"

"You went overboard, Blake. You were in the water for about two minutes." Blake turned around slowly to face Maggie, his eyes were wide as he looked at her.

"I don't remember even being hit with anything that would send me over."

"That's actually very common. It's called traumatic amnesia and -" Maggie was cut off by Blake kissing her. When he sat back, Maggie was the one with the wide eyes. "What was that for?" Blake looked her directly in the eyes, his face more serious than she had ever seen it.

"I love you." And she melted.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for all of your reviews! Here's another installment for you to enjoy!  
~Mags~

"Is there something strange going on around here, or is it just me?"

Scott was staring at Maggie and Blake over lunch. The boys had come in tired and hungry. They had been working nearly three days straight pulling in the crab, hoping that the call would come over the radio that quota had been met. So far it hadn't, and from what Rick had been telling them, the other vessels were hitting dry areas and bringing up very little crab. This is the train of thought that the rest of them assumed Scott was on.

"The crab just seem to like our boat." Rick shrugged.

"Yeah, we must have the best holding cell." Mike laughed.

"I'm not talking about the crab." Scott sighed. "I'm talking about them." He motioned towards Maggie and Blake who were sitting slightly removed from the rest of the crew, close together and talking quietly to each other. It was like no one else was around.

"Oh, them?" Rick glanced over. "They're fine, trust me."

"But they're getting along." Marvin had finally seen them. "I want my entertainment back." He pouted making the men laugh.

Over in the corner, Blake gently put his forehead to Maggie's and caressing her cheek with his hand.  
"Tell me about your family."

"What's there to tell? I live with my mom and brother when I'm not at school because I'm broke. We have two dogs in the house, one is my mom's and one is mine and Michael's got his cat." Maggie pushed her bangs back out of her face.

"What happened to your father?"

"Um… he left when I was small. My parents divorced soon after that and I haven't heard much from him since." Maggie shrugged. "He wasn't the nicest of men anyway." Blake got the point that she didn't want to talk about this topic and quickly changed to a new one.

"So tell me about your dog." Maggie smiled, good topic.

"Kipper Jack is a purebred German Shorthaired Pointer, but he's hunting form."

"What does that mean?"

"Pointers are bred in two ways. Slim and small for show, and broad and large for hunting. So Jack is on the bigger side." Maggie smiled. "I love that boy to death. He keeps me company on the couch when I'm lonely."

"Well, if I don't screw up too badly, maybe I can join you and Jack on that couch." Blake smiled, kissing Maggie's forehead.

"Come on lover boy, it's time to get more work done. Those bait bags ain't gonna fill themselves." Rick shook Blake playfully by the shoulders as he passed.

"Yes, sir!" Blake stood up and grabbed his dishes and Maggie's. Leaning over, he kissed her on the cheek. "I'll talk to you later."

"Be careful out there." She told him, putting her hand to his cheek. "All of you be careful. I just got used to cooking for six. Five will screw me up."

"We'll keep that in mind kiddo." Mike said, putting his dishes in the sink. "Let's head out men!"

Maggie watched them leave the kitchen, waving them out and saying a silent prayer for each one. Every time they went out on deck, they were more or less facing their death. Blake had shown them that when he went over a few days ago. Maggie shook her head. That was a day she didn't want to think too much about. As soon as she had seen him go over the railing, her heart stopped. Rick had been right about her actions. She would have done the same thing for any of the other guys, don't get it wrong. But when Blake hit that water, it was like she hit the water with him. It was the worse feeling she had ever experienced. It was like if she lost him; like she would never be happy again.

"Maggie, get up to the bridge!" Rick's voice sounded over the speaker. Maggie grabbed a towel to dry her hands and headed towards the bridge, wondering what it was that Rick could need her for.

"What's up, Rick?" He turned around. The look on his face told Maggie that there was something wrong. She ran to the window. "Did something happen to one of the boys?"

"No, the boys are fine." She turned to him.

"You? Are you alright?"

"Yes, Maggie. I'm fine." Rick came over and took her hand, leading her to sit in the captains chair. Now she knew there was something wrong.

"Rick, what is it? What's going on?" Rick leaned against the control panel and stared at his hands.

"Maggie, sweetheart," he started. "Your brother just got patched through on what's called a vessel-jump call. It's only used in real emergencies." Maggie's heart stopped in her chest. She closed her eyes and just started praying, not know what was about to come next. "Baby, you're mother's in the hospital. They aren't sure what happened, but you're brother brought her in this morning." There were tears squeezing out from between Maggie's shut eyelids. "Sweetheart, they don't know how long she's going to last." At this, a sob escaped Maggie's lips, and from there she couldn't hold back and she crumbled in the chair. Rick stepped forward and put his arms around her. "We're going back to Dutch Harbor. We're going to get you back to Jersey."

Down on the deck, Blake had seen Maggie appear in the window. She had quickly scanned for them all then turned back around and disappeared. Blake stood where he was for a few minutes, staring up into the bridge, then he ran upstairs. He didn't know what was going on, but something inside him told him that something was wrong. He ran up to the bridge, not even bothering to discard his parka or anything else that was wet. Up on the bridge, he saw Rick holding Maggie who was sobbing uncontrollably.

"What's going on?" He asked, stepping forward and looking up at Rick as he fell to his knees in front of Maggie. He placed one hand on her knee, the other around her back. "What happened?" He whispered, putting his head against hers.

"M-m-mom's in the -" She broke off, unable to finish. Blake looked up at Rick.

"Her mother is in the hospital. We're going back to Harbor and dropping her off." Blake looked back at Maggie, wrapping his arms around her as she cried harder.

"Alright, sweetheart, alright. I'm here." Blake stood Maggie up, holding her up. Finally he picked her up bridal style, letting her bury her head against his shoulder. "I'll take her down to her cabin." Rick nodded.

"Stay with her a while, okay?" Blake nodded in return, leaving the bridge with Maggie in his arms.

Rick appeared in the doorway to Maggie's cabin a little while later. Looking in he saw her asleep in her bed, curled into a ball, blankets draped over her. Blake was sitting in the chair facing her, his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands.

"How's she doing?"

"I'm going with her."

"That's not the question I asked." Blake dropped his hands and his head, then slowly stood to face Rick.

"I know, but that's the answer I'm giving you. When she gets off this boat, I'm going with her."

"You'll miss out on a part of your share if you do."

"I don't care. She's worth more than just a share of the profit. I can't leave her like this." Rick nodded.

"I figured you would say something like that. I've already arranged to pick up a greenhorn at Harbor. I've made travel arrangements for both of you." Blake looked up at Rick. There weren't words in this world that would help him express his gratitude towards the old man at this moment.

"Rick -"  
"Just take care of her, okay? I'll take care of your ship until you return."

"My ship?"

"Your ship." Rick left the room, leaving the two of them together. That was Rick telling Blake that he was going to be captain. He didn't care about Blake buying the ship. Rick had plenty of money to live on. The boat was Blake's. He had earned it. Rick climbed back up to the bridge. The only thing was, would Blake return if Maggie didn't?

Maggie was rifling through the loose articles, make sure she had all the ones she had taken out of the binders. All her stuff was packed; the computers, the tapes and DVDs, all of her clothing. She grabbed her stuff and walked up to the deck. They had hit Dutch Harbor. There was a car waiting for her. But she didn't expect to see Blake standing next to it with a bag.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her puffy eyes already filling with tears.

"I'm coming with you."

"We never discussed this."

"There's nothing to discuss. I'm coming with you." Blake reached out to take Maggie's bags from her.

"Blake, I can't take you away from here. You're so close to being captain, you need to stay."

"Maggie, you don't need to worry about it. Rick told me he'll take care of the Maverick until I get back. He's grabbing a greenhorn while I'm gone. It's all taken care of." Blake put her bags and his in the back of the car. "Now come on, or we'll miss the plane." Maggie smiled at him as he held the door open and his hand out to her. Without another objection, she stepped forward, taking his hand, and slipped into the car, him behind her.

At the airport, Maggie felt Blake's hand begin to shake.  
"Are you okay?"

"Do you know how long it's been since I've been on a plane?" He asked, still staring at the giant plane in front of them. "I've been living up here since I started as a greenhorn."  
"Nineteen years ago. That would be around 1990." Blake nodded. "You'll be fine." She squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek. "Just like you're here for me, I'm here for you."


	6. Chapter 6

The taxi stopped in front of the hospital. Morristown Memorial. The last time Maggie was here, her grandmother was having complications after surgery. The time before that, her best friend had been thrown from a horse. This place didn't bode well in her memories.

"You gonna be okay?" Blake's voice intruded Maggie's thoughts, snapping her from her gaze upon the building. Maggie smiled weakly and nodded, walking together with Blake through the hospital doors.

"Kathleen Rose Webber, please." The receptionist looked up at Maggie.

"Relation?"  
"I'm her daughter." The receptionist nodded, wrote down the floor and room number on a scrap of paper and handed it to Maggie. "Elevator's at the end of the hall."

"Thank you." Maggie led the way towards the elevators, stepping in as the doors opened and pressing the 5 button, then falling back against the wall. Blake looked at her with a concerned expression. "I just don't like elevators."

"But you like boats?"

"That's different."

"What room are we looking for?" Maggie looked at the paper clutched in her hands.

"529." She said, as the doors slid open.

"Maggie!"

"Michael!" Maggie ran down the hall towards her twin brother, throwing her arms around him tightly. "I've missed you so much."

"I know, I've missed you too."

"How's Mom?"

"She's sleeping. She's been sleeping a lot." Michael looked down at the floor.

"Michael, what's wrong with her?" Michael looked back up at his sister, tears running down his face.

"Mags, Mom's diabetes are just taking over. They can't get it under control anymore. The doctor said that if something doesn't work soon, it's going to kill her." Maggie felt the tears on her own cheeks, and wiped them away. Between her and Michael, she had always been the strong one. She had to be the strong one now too.

"I'm going to go in to see her. Why don't you take Blake down to the cafeteria and get some food."

"Who's Blake?" Maggie turned and grabbed Blake's hand, pulling him forward.

"This is Blake. He's the new captain of the Maverick." Maggie paused, looking into Blake's eyes. "And my boyfriend." Blake looked back at Maggie and smiled, then turned to Michael, holding out his hand.

"Pleased to meet you." Michael took Blake's hand and shook it, not saying much.

"Now that you two have met, when you come back up, could you bring me a sandwich?"

"Sure thing Mags," Blake said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Will do, Maggie." Michael said, also kissing her cheek. Maggie caught him glaring at Blake a little as he did it. The boys left and Maggie turned and entered the room where her mother lay sleeping. She sat down on the edge of the hospital bed.

"Mom?" She asked quietly, touching her mother's hand.

"I'm awake. You know I'm not sleeping as much as your brother thinks I am. I'm just bored out of my mind." Maggie laughed a little. Yep, that's her mother for sure.

"How goes it?"

"It goes. Most of the time I feel like shit and my brain if fogged over, but every once in a while I get a little clearer, like right now."

"When was the last time you ate?"

"About an hour ago. I should be like this for at least another hour." Maggie nodded.

"Sounds to me like you just have to eat more. I bet they're giving you the same amount of insulin as you've always taken." Kathleen nodded. "Stupid money suckers." Maggie mumbled. "So you'll never guess what I brought with me."

"Something loaded with sugar?" Kathleen asked hopefully. Maggie laughed again.

"No, not quite. I brought Blake."

"The new boyfriend?" Maggie smiled and nodded.

Maggie looked at her watch. 2:30 AM. She sighed and sat up in the recliner she had previously been sleeping in. She didn't know what woke her up, but she was wide awake now. She picked up her book from the table next to her and started reading. Blake had met Kathy earlier in the day and he and Maggie's family had spent the afternoon laughing. Blake seemed to just fit in with them, like he was meant to be there. Even her mother's cousins, when they had stopped by seemed to like him. Christy and Beccy even pulled Maggie aside before they left to giggle and gossip about Blake, leaving Maggie with a smile.

Kathy stirred and Maggie stood to sit on the edge of the bed, taking her hand.

"Mom, you okay?" Kathy opened her eyes and looked at Maggie, her face serious.

"He loves you, you know that?" Maggie nodded. "You have to tell him about your past."

"I can't." Maggie whispered, unable to find her voice. "I might lose him if I do."

"He loves you. If you love him, you need to take that chance, Mags. He'll understand."

"I don't know if I can, Mom."

"You have to trust me, Mags. And you have to trust him. This is important, it's a huge part of who you are. You need to tell him."

Maggie nodded finally.

"Go back to sleep, Mom. We'll talk in the morning." Maggie kissed her mother's forehead. "Love you."

"Love you too," Kathy said sleepily, closing her eyes.

"Michael?" Maggie choked into the phone the next morning. It was 11:00. "She's gone." Their mother had passed away in the early, early morning. Since she had a DNR order, there were no beeping machines to alert anyone. She had gone quietly in her sleep, quick and painless. They found out in the morning. "She's gone." Maggie could hear her brother on the other end start to cry.

"We'll be there soon." He choked out.

Twenty minutes later, Michael and Blake were walking down the hall towards Maggie. There was a strange woman holding Michael's hand. A blonde but Maggie didn't care to pay much attention to her. Blake got to Maggie first, wrapping his arms tightly around her and holding her close. At his embrace, the exhaustion took Maggie over, and she started to cry, her knees giving out from under her. Blake held onto her as he lowered her to the floor.

"I'm sorry, baby girl. I'm so sorry."

A few days later, after the wake and funeral, and after everyone had gone home, Maggie entered the house to find Blake alone, reading on the couch. She sighed and went over to sit on the coffee table in front of him, her hands on his knees.

"Hey you," Blake smiled, then saw the serious look on her face. "What's wrong?" Maggie took a deep breath.

"Blake, I need to tell you something important." Blake put his book to the side, leaning forward.

"Anything, you can tell me anything, you know that." Blake said quietly, placing his hands on Maggie's legs, as if telling her he really was there. Maggie took a deep breath.

"About five years ago, just as I was graduating from undergrad, I was engaged." She paused. "I was also pregnant." Blake's head fell and he stared at the floor. "I didn't get engaged because I was pregnant. I was pregnant because I was engaged." Maggie's voice shook, and she stopped, closing her mouth. She was shaking.  
"What happened?" His voice was low and quiet. He was back to looking Maggie in the eye. This time it was Maggie's head that fell. She looked away as the tears began to fall from her eyes. Could she really do this? She hadn't told anyone what happened, except for Brandon and her own family.

"I had a miscarriage, in my fifth month." Maggie whispered, forcing herself to look Blake in the eye. "And I was devastated. Brandon broke the engagement and left me. I lost a lot of friends. I thought it was something I had done wrong. I thought it was all my fault. I buried myself in my work. I did everything I could to distract myself from my life. And because of it, I ended up in the hospital. I passed out the day after graduation from exhaustion, dehydration, starvation, and any number of causes. I don't really remember a lot of it." Maggie had regained the majority of her composure. The fact that Blake was still sitting in front of her made her feel a little better; he was just letting her talk. "I got out in time to start my masters program, and since then I've been working just as hard. I haven't had a boyfriend since then, I haven't done anything that involved men since then. Until you." Blake looked back at Maggie. "I met you and everything from my past just flew out the window. When I'm with you, it's like I'm a new person, nothing else matters." She finally stopped talking, watching Blake for a reaction. His eyes were soft as he looked at her.

"I am so honored you told me this." He said, gathering her in his arms, pulling her onto his lap. "I am so sorry you had to go through all of that." he paused, holding her, allowing her to cuddle into him. "I want you to know, that I will never leave you when you need me. I will always be there for you." Maggie wrapped her arms around him, holding him just as tightly. You were right, Mom, she thought, once again you were right.

"I will always be there for you." These words had never come out of Blake's mouth before, not to anyone. But here, after hearing what Maggie had just told him, he couldn't ever imagine saying those words to anyone else. When he first heard that she had been engaged and pregnant, he couldn't believe it. He was angry and upset at the idea. But as soon as the word miscarriage came out of her mouth, the anger dissipated quickly, especially after seeing the look in her eyes and the tears on her face. He just wanted to kiss those tears away, to assure her that he would never do anything like that to her. As he pulled Maggie onto his lap, all he wanted to do was to continue to hold her like this forever.

"When we get back to Seattle, whenever that is, I would love it if you would move in with me."

Maggie sat up in Blake's lap, looking into his eyes. There was no lying there.

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack." Blake told her. His hands were in her lap and he looked down at them before looking back up into Maggie's eyes. "Against all odds, and despite my trying not to, I have fallen completely in love with you. I know I have a lot more to learn about you, but I am completely willing to spend all the time in the world learning about you." Blake reached up and pushed the hair out of Maggie's eyes. Those eyes were wide, and slow smile spread across her face.

"I would love to move in with you." The smile jumped to Blake's lips and he put his hands on Maggie's face, pulling her into a kiss, and wrapping his arms around her.

Jamie was Michael's newest girlfriend. He said that Mom had liked her, but Maggie wasn't so sure.

"Are you sure she wasn't just being nice to her?" Maggie asked, staring that the other girl. "She's kind of…" Her eyebrows furrowed as she searched for the right word.

"Stupid?" Blake suggested. "Naïve?"

"I was going to say blond." Maggie looked at the two boys who both laughed. Jamie was currently in the yard with Jack and Logan. Maggie turned back and watched her for a moment. "She's going to get bitten." Just as she said it, Jamie yelled.

"Stupid fucking bitch!" She screamed, raising her hand. Instantly Maggie was between her and Logan, Jamie's wrist in her grasp.

"I swear to God, you lay one hand on that dog and I'll take you out myself." Maggie growled.

"She bit me!"

"I don't care if she tore your arm off, you were being stupid." Maggie threw Jamie's arm at her. "Now get out of my house."

"That's not your place to say."

"Actually it is." Michael was by Maggie's side. "I think you were right about Mom just being nice to her." He turned back to Jamie. "Hosta la vista kiddo." Jamie's jaw dropped.

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack. There's the door." Jamie stomped off, slamming the door behind her. Once she was gone, Maggie knelt to pet Logan and Jack, them both nearly knocking her off her balance.

"Okay you two!" Maggie laughed, sitting down and letting the two dogs jump over her. When they had tired, Maggie opened her eyes to find a laughing Blake reaching down to help her up. She took his hand and he pulled her into a hug. For the first time, Maggie noticed how perfectly she fit into him. Her head rested right against his chest, her arms fit perfectly around his waist, and more importantly, she felt safe and warm in his arms.

"When do you guys have to be back at the Maverick?" Michael asked, breaking Maggie's train of thought.

"Well, king crab season is just about over, an it's two months till orphelio season. My flight leaves tomorrow because I have to get back up to Seattle to take care of some stuff with Rick." Blake looked at Maggie. "You can go with me, or stay here until the season starts. It's up to you." Maggie looked at Michael then back at Blake.

"How about I meet you in Seattle in a week or so? That way I can stay here and help Michael with getting stuff done." Blake nodded.

"That's perfectly fine, just let me know when you decide to fly in."

The next day Maggie drove Blake to the airport, and walked with him as far as she could go.

"Give me a call when you get there, okay?" She said, wrapping her arms around him. "Just so I know you got in safe." Blake laughed.

"I will, and don't worry, I'll be fine." Maggie smiled up at him. "Love you." Blake smiled back.

"Love you too, baby girl." He leaned down and kissed her softly. "I'll talk to you in a couple hours." He gave her one last hug before going through the security post and disappearing down the terminal.

"I think I'm going to drive out to Seattle." Maggie said at dinner one night two weeks later. Michael stared at her.

"Driving implies large amount of stuff." Maggie nodded.

"As strange as it sounds, I actually really like it out there. You know I spent a couple weeks in Seattle before going up to Alaska. It agreed with me." She paused. "And Blake asked me to move in with him."

"But what about here?" Michael asked, looking sad.

"I love it here, you know that. But there isn't any point in me staying, is there? Mom isn't here anymore, and you're moving to Florida, Katie's in California. All that's left here are old memories. Memories that hurt." Michael nodded, he understood what she was talking about.

"Well, what are we going to do with Logan?" Michael asked. His hand disappeared under the table. They had both heard her raise her head at the sound of her name. "She doesn't get along with Roxbury." Maggie thought a moment. There was only one answer.

"I'll take her with me and Jack."

"What are they going to do while you're on the boat?"

"They'll be on the boat with me. They'll like it, and the men will like having them around."

"Is that safe?"

"It should be. Besides, Blake's the one that suggested it."


	7. Chapter 7

This is all I have for now on this one, but who knows, maybe I'll come up with a sequal!  
Thanks for all your reviews, let me know what you think!  
~Mags~

"Jack! Get in the car!" Maggie called, clapping for her oversized baby boy. He jumped in and settled on the floor of the passenger seat of Maggie's truck, since Logan was sitting ladylike in the actual seat.

"Are you sure you have everything? All your stuff, all Jack and Logan's stuff? The storage unit is all paid for?"

"Yes Michael, I'm sure. I've checked probably about eight times."

"It's just strange that it all fits under that cover."

"It's because I'm good at what I do." Maggie smiled, hugging her twin brother. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?" Michael hugged her back.

"I think I'll be okay. The house is sold. As soon as the money comes in I'll put half in your account. And in a few days, I'll be out of here myself."

"Alright, stay in touch, and I'll see you at Christmas."

"Of course. I'll talk to you soon." With one last hug, Maggie jumped into the driver's seat of her red Dodge Ram and pulled out of the driveway. Just head east, she thought to herself, the rest will take care of its self.

With the dogs in the car Maggie had to remind herself to stop more often, but she didn't mind. The point of driving out was to take some time to be by herself. There had been people at the house everyday since her mother had died. Cousin, aunts, uncles, neighbors, friends. The list could go on forever. Not only that, they got there early and stayed until late, never giving Maggie or Michael a chance to just be. Maggie knew she should have been grateful, and she was, but she never got a chance to think through everything that was going on in her life.

It was mid-December. Since July, she had been in a number of different places. She had started in New Jersey, went up to Quebec for a few weeks where she had registered with the Native American tribe who's blood ran in her veins. But that was more a spiritual experience than anything else. From there she had made her way across the northern United States until she reached Seattle. There she found an apartment and began looking for the highest paying job she could find. Which happened to be on a crabbing boat. So in October, she let Michael borrow her car and she hopped a plane up to Alaska, where Rick hired her and our story begins.

Maggie stopped and let the dogs out to run, watching them, though knowing she really didn't have to. As she leaned against the truck, Maggie's thoughts began to drift once more. That crabbing boat had changed her life. It gave her a means of survival, a way to pay off loans, and to get as far away from her problems as she could have ever imagined. And it allowed her to meet Blake. In the beginning Maggie had thought of Blake as rude and arrogant. But she quickly discovered how wrong she was. His exterior might have been gruff, but inside he was calm and quiet, and even sensitive. Maggie smiled. If Blake heard that he would deny it to the ends of the earth. Maggie called to the dogs who came running and they hit the road again.

"Hello?" Blake's voice answered the phone. Surprisingly Maggie's breath was swept away at the sound. The feeling was wordless.

"Hey, I have a surprise for you." It was Maggie. Blake heart skipped a beat, it had been almost a week since they last had a chance to actually talk.

"I'm so glad it's you. What's this surprise?"

"Go to the front door." Blake could tell there was a smile playing at her lips. There was a click and he knew Maggie had hung up. Quickly he went to the front of the house, pulling open the door and running out onto his porch. There he was tackled by a medium sized German Shepherd mix and an extra large German Shorthaired Pointer. "Logan! Jack!" He laughed, squatting to pet them both. "Where's the girl?" Logan ran back towards the driveway. Blake stood to find Maggie leaning very sexily against her red Dodge Ram, extended cab. He smiled at the sight of her in hiking boots, jeans and a long sleeve, fitted brown tee-shirt. Without a word, Blake jumped the steps and walked towards Maggie, not stopping until her was close enough to kiss her.

Maggie watched as Blake came at her. He looked more at home here, with the towering trees around him. For that matter, she felt more at

home here. And when he gathered her in his arms and kissed her, with the dogs jumping around them, it made the entire thing complete.

"How was the drive?" Blake asked, taking a look at Maggie's truck.

"It was good. I took my time, and got some quiet time to myself and the dogs." Maggie said, pulling open one of the back doors on the cab and pulling out a bag.

"Do you need anything else out of here?" Blake asked. The cab was packed so that Blake could see what and where everything was.

"Not right now," Maggie smiled. She held up the bag that she had taken out. It was just an old backpack. "Everything I need at this moment is right here." She smiled and threw the bag onto her back and sashayed up towards the house. She turned around after a few steps, walking backwards. "You gonna show me around? I'll be staying here with you, remember?" Blake smiled and walked towards the house with her.

"Are you going to tell me what's in the bag?" Blake asked as he held the door open for her. She smiled.

"Are you going to tell me where the bathroom is?" Blake pointed.

"Up the stairs and to the left."

"Shower stuff." Maggie smiled, going where he had directed. Blake laughed.

"Take your time and relax." He called after her, then headed back outside. There wasn't a lot of stuff, he could have the majority of it unloaded before she got out of the shower.

By the time Maggie got out of the shower, Blake was sitting on the couch, a can of Dr. Pepper in his hands, the dogs at his feet. Maggie watched him for a moment. His eyes were closed, he hadn't seen her yet. He looked comfortable and happy. The dogs were fast asleep.

"You all look happy."

Maggie's voice made him open his eyes. There she stood, leaning against the door jam in a knee-length, white terry cloth bathrobe. Her one hand on her hip, the other dangling at her side. Her short brown hair was dry and hanging shaggily around her head. It hadn't been styled yet, but she looked overwhelmingly sexy. Blake had never seen her legs bare before, but he saw them now. They were long and slim, muscular from years of swimming and running with dogs, and of course, the couple months walking on the ship. Slowly those legs started towards him. He knew that Maggie was making every step worth it for his eyes. When she sat down, it wasn't the typical way she sat on his lap. This time she straddled him, a knee on each side of him, her arms around his neck.

Blake's eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open in surprise of Maggie's sudden sexuality. He had always know she was sexy, but this was a side he had never seen from her, and frankly it was turning him on intensely. Her kiss was the softest he had ever felt, just a little more than a brush past. When Blake leaned in to deepen the kiss, Maggie pulled back just slightly, a smile on her face and stayed there until he returned to his original position. But she paid him nicely for his obedience. Maggie pressed into him, sliding her tongue over his lips and raising herself up slightly. Blake wrapped his arms around her, holding Maggie close to him. All he wanted to do was to feel her body against his. He knew her skin would be soft in his hands, but he wanted to experience it. Blake felt Maggie's hands travel down his chest and pull at the edge of his shirt. It was the same as the incident with his shoulder, just this time he didn't stop her.

Maggie stopped kissing him long enough to pull the tee-shirt over Blake's head. She smile playfully.

"This is all I needed, thanks." Maggie went to stand back up, but only got halfway up before Blake grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto the couch.

"I don't think so," he growled seductively into her neck before nibbling on the soft flesh that was there. Maggie giggled, running her hands through Blake's hair and down his back, feeling the muscles ripple beneath her hands.

He reached up and tugged gently on the tie to the bathrobe. It untied easily and Blake slid his hand inside the robe and around Maggie's waist. He pushed himself up a little, looking into Maggie's eyes, looking for a sign of uncertainty. Her normally bright hazel eyes were dark with passion.

Blake watched Maggie traced the edge of her robe with a finger slowly letting the cloth fall to the side and revealing the skin beneath it. Now Blake really sat back. Her body was perfect, in every sense of the word. She had smooth curves from her breasts all the way down her legs. He just wanted to love every inch of that perfect body. Blake leaned back down and kissed her with as much love and tenderness as he could muster, wanting her to know exactly how he felt about her without saying a word.

It had been over five years since Maggie had been in this place, had these kind of feelings towards another person. She wanted so badly to share with him everything that she had inside her. She had no reservations, no questions in her mind. This is what she wanted.

Blake wrapped his arms around Maggie, picking her up and carrying her up to his room. After laying her on the bed, her rope spread wide, he stood back and slid his jeans from his body then climbed onto the bed until he covered her now shaking body.

"You okay?" He whispered. Maggie nodded.

"Just wanting you." She smiled, Blake returning it and leaning down to kiss her once more.

The next morning when Blake awoke, he didn't want to open his eyes. The visual memory from last night that he saw on the inside of his eyelids was better than anything he could see when he was awake, but finally he did open them and was proven wrong. In his arms, still fast asleep was Maggie - her mouth slightly open, her eyes softly closed and her body, like his, naked, covered only with the blankets of Blake's bed.

Gently, Blake kissed her temple, causing Maggie to stir slightly and roll onto her back. Her eyes opened slowly and she looked up at him with a smile.

"Morning," she whispered.

"Morning," Blake answered kissing her lips. "Are you hungry?"

"Not quite yet," Maggie shook her head, turning to fully face him and cuddle against his chest. "Besides, I'm blissfully happy right here." Blake smiled and wrapped his arms around her. He was happy where ever she happened to be.

"Can I ask you something?" He whispered, his face someplace near her ear.

"Mmm?" She was nearly asleep again.

"Will you stay with me forever?"

"Mmhmm."

"Blake, where are you taking me?" Maggie asked. It was January and they were back in Alaska getting ready for the King Crab season. Maggie thought that they were going to get food and get back to the boat, but when Blake made an unexpected turn, she knew that something was up.

"You'll see, just hang tight, ok?" Blake laughed, taking her hand and kissing the back of it as he steered his truck through the streets of Dutch Harbor. He knew exactly where they were going, and what was going to happen when they got there. "Close your eyes."

"What that a question or a demand?"

"That was a request." Blake laughed, brushing his hand downward over her face. He pulled into a parking space and jumped out of the truck, running around to help Maggie out the passenger side and to steer her into the building that they had stopped in front of.

"Blake, what in the world is going on?" Maggie asked, the second his hands left her shoulders. "Where are you?" She heard someone snicker. "Who's there? Blake?"

"Why don't you stop asking questions and open your eyes?" She heard Blake's voice in front of her. But there was a little shake in that voice. Maggie opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Blake, down on one knee in front of her.

"Oh, my God." Maggie whispered, glancing around. The crew from the Maverick were there with the two dogs, all the other fleet captains were sitting around. They were in the local pub, in front of all their friends.

"Margaret May Webber," Blake started, taking Maggie's left hand. "My Maggie May, I love you more than I could have ever believed. I know I can't give you everything that I think you deserve, but I can give you one thing that no other man ever could. And that is my heart and my pledge to always, _always_ be there when you need me to be." Blake paused a moment. "I'm just a boy, kneeling in front of a girl, asking her to marry him." From his pocket, Blake pulled a ring. It wasn't fancy, just a simple silver band with a single inset diamond.

Maggie was speechless. They hadn't discussed this, they hadn't even casually mentioned the idea of getting married. But here was Blake, kneeling before her with a ring in his hands, asking her to marry him. Suddenly Maggie found her voice, but just barely.

"Yes."

"Yes?"  
"Yes!"

Blake smiled and slid the ring onto Maggie's finger. It was a perfect fit. Blake stood and gathered Maggie in his arms, kissing her the same way he had kissed her the night they first made love - with as much passion and intensity as he could muster. Everyone in the pub gave up a cheer, applauding and whistling at the couple.


End file.
